


Manchester

by TheseArePeople



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-26
Updated: 2014-09-26
Packaged: 2018-02-18 21:14:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2362385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheseArePeople/pseuds/TheseArePeople
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sleepless and frustrated, Josh comes to Donna’s room in the middle of the night. This is a rewrite of the scene when Donna comes to check on him in the morning, based on the deleted scene that was originally used in its place:<br/>http://heyyyybrother.tumblr.com/post/66760550183/this-scene-was-originally-written-and-i-think</p><p>Set in season 3, during “Manchester: Part II”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Manchester

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published on tumblr, 1/17/14: http://heyyyybrother.tumblr.com/post/73667805503/manchester

             Donna jolts awake, realizing that the noise she hears is not, as she previously thought, a herd of elephants storming through the halls of the White House, but a rapid knocking on her door. Relieved but disoriented, she stumbles toward the door and throws it open.

                Josh’s fist, poised to continue knocking, falls to his side. “Finally! I’ve been knocking for two minutes!”

               Donna shades her eyes with her hand to block the harsh fluorescent lighting of the hallway and steps aside as he enters the room. “What’s going on?”

               “Hotel rooms should have doorbells or something.”

               “Yes, because it should be easier to wake people up at 3:30 in the morning,” she mutters, watching as Josh opens her minibar and gathers candy bars and bags of chips. “You couldn’t sleep?”

               “Oh, I slept, but I made sure to set the alarm so I’d remember to raid your minibar in the middle of the night.”

               “Your snarkiness is less amusing in the middle of the night, you know that?” She climbs back into bed.

               “What are you doing?”

               “Well, if you’re not going to tell me why you’re here, I think I’ll just go back to sleep.”

               “I messed up,” he responds, dropping onto the blankets covering the opposite side of her bed.

               Donna rolls over to look at him and props herself up with her elbow. “RU-486? Josh, there’s nothing you can do, and—“

               “No,” he interrupts. “Tobacco. I screwed up. It could have helped us later. I might have lost the election for us before we’ve even started campaigning.” He struggles to open a bag of potato chips until he tugs at it with such sudden force that the bag splits down the side, chips flying everywhere. “Damn it!” he bursts out, throwing the bag aside and smacking his hand on the bed.  

               They lie in silence for a few moments before she speaks. “Josh. You made a mistake. We won this race before. We can do it again.” She lifts his hand to sweep the crumbs of some crushed chips into a neat pile. His breath catches at her touch, and he has to pause before responding.

               “It’s gonna be harder this time. This is gonna be a close election, and I blew one thing that could have given us an edge. This campaign can’t afford mistakes like that!” He runs his hands through his hair in frustration, sliding them back down his face to reveal a defeated expression.

               “It was hard the first time,” Donna says softly. “No one else even expected him to get the nomination, but we believed in him. Think about how many mistakes we made back then! Yeah, it’ll be tough this time around, but that’s all the more reason to dust off and get back out there. He needs you, Josh.”

               “I’m not doing him a whole lot of good right now.”

               “Maybe because you’re dwelling on something that you can’t change without a DeLorean.”

               “Yeah,” he sighs, opening a Kit Kat bar. Donna extends an open palm and he hands half to her.

               “You have to forgive yourself,” she comments, chewing thoughtfully. “Maybe you haven’t forgiven him yet, either.”

               “When did you become a psychologist?”

               “Mock all you want, but think about it, okay?” She reaches out, grazing his arm before nestling under the covers.

               Josh stares intently at the wall by way of response. He tries to think about what Donna said, but he can still feel the delicate touch of her fingers. After a few minutes, her breathing slows, and he knows she’s fallen asleep.

               He glances at her, watching the steady rise and fall of the blanket covering her. As gently as he can, he rises from the bed and stands up. Painstakingly, he gathers the potato chips and crumbs strewn across the floor and bed, trying to do so noiselessly. Placing the now-full bag of chips in the trash can, he turns to Donna. Tiptoeing back to the opposite side of the bed, he reaches across and pulls the blanket over her exposed shoulder. She stirs but doesn’t wake.

             With a small smile he turns and leaves the room, gently guiding the door open and shut, testing the handle once to make sure it’s locked.

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to send feedback! Thank you for reading!


End file.
